The ways that a detective works are common and you can find them in many novels when you analyze them closer. We saw the detective skills really shine in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which is really commonly known to be one of the better detective novels made. Even when you mention detectives many people will automatically think of Sherlock and Dr. Watson, even if they haven't read the stories. Sherlock Holmes can be known from stories told by people, shows, or even movies. Though the media may not portray Sherlock the same as the stories the name and idea of the character of him still stick around in their heads. So, Sherlock Holmes can be seen as one of the most known and most common detective stories out there.
Though detectives can be found in many other things, particularly other novels or stories. An example of this is the book we just finished in class called Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain. It shows the detective work that you could find when reading a Sherlock Holmes story. The character in the book uses certain things to help lead him into finding out exactly who the culprit is. Some of these things are finger prints, eye witnesses, and disguises. With these helpful pieces of evidence he is eventually lead to the culprit being “Tom” who he discovers is actually Chambers. So, him using these detective skills he uncovers not only who the culprit was, but also that Roxana had switched Tom and Chambers right after they were born so that her son could lead the life of a wealthy white. Even if Pudd'nhead Wilson doesn't have the great observation skill that Sherlock has he was still able to figure out who the real culprit was and not Luigi who was being blamed for the act of crime.
Pudd’nhead Wilson is no Sherlock Holmes but it helps show that a story can not be purely based off the detective skills that the main character has. Any novel that has somewhat of a mystery can be a detective story. These stories plots will be more centered around more of a storyline where they are focused on more developing characters or not just the solving of the chrime. Though Sherlock Holmes can do this because the main characters are mostly introduced since it is a series of multiple Sherlock stories, whereas Pudd’nhead Wilson is one book alone and has to put aside time for all the characters. In the end they are both good, but in their own ways.
This post was done very well. I was really impressed with the comparison topic that you guys chose to make, as it was one that was never brought up in the classroom. The similarities brought up were spot on point; especially when talking about the ways in which the detectives arrived at their conclusion. In addition the fact that you brought up how mystery stories can end up in detective stories as well was very insightful, because it is indeed true. Talking about the different plot stories is another good factor that was brought up because it will allow for the audiences to look at different story types and be able to see the parallels between the two. The points that were brought are going to allow for readers to become better analysts of stories and be able to link similarities’. This overall was a fantastic post and was well thought. This response was brought to you by Joshua Z and Savanah A aka TEAM WHY.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this blog post because as someone with limited knowledge on detective stories, including Sherlock Holmes, I still immediately think of Sherlock when detective is mentioned. Although I have seen some of the movies. The whole time while reading Pudd'nhead Wilson I never really considered it to be a detective novel, or considered Wilson as a detective himself. I mainly focused my attention on the issues going on between "Tom" and Roxy. It actually made me wish that the story had a little more of Wilson in it. But you can also see some of the similar traits, now that I've read your post, between Wilson and Sherlock. And even though the Sherlock stories you are constantly seeing his thinking behind everything, it is similar that Wilson is secretly doing all of this detective work behind the scenes while the main focus is on the criminals, and then voila! The mystery is solved by Wilson. So I'm glad you brought those connections the the forefront.
ReplyDeleteFrom Sydney, Hayley, and Emily
I would agree with both your commenters; these comparisons are helpful.
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